Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Small section of Illinois St improved ever so slightly

A tiny section of Illinois St at 18th St has been improved ever so slightly for cyclists. The rail tracks that run in the southbound lane have been filled in with asphalt. Why it's taken so long and so much complaining to get this stretch fixed is anyone's guess, but likely it was only done because construction at The Gantry requires cyclists to cross the tracks and the developer didn't want to be on the hook for someone getting stuck or injured.

Every cyclist who rides this route knows that FedEx trucks routinely park at 1170 Illinois, forcing us across the tracks there, and then farther on at the auto dismantler, there are two jarring metal ridges across the bike lane that you either rattle over or dodge at your own risk.

Why can't DPW come along and fill in the entire length of track from 16th St to Marin St? Motorists have difficulty driving this stretch as well, as they don't want to drive on the tracks either.